Against All Odds
by HelloMissDeath
Summary: AU: To end the First Contact war Garrus Vakarian and Jane Shepard are forced to become bond mates. This story fallows the struggles and pressures society places on them as they go against all odds together.
1. Chapter 1: Duty

AN: Rewritten (6/17) with my lovely new beta Im The Sweet. Thank you to her and everyone's comments so far! I do not own these characters; they are Biowear's, and will always stay Biowear's… Will be updating the other two chapters before I start four! Mild changes but no big plot changes.

Chapter One: Duty

Commander Jane Shepard was a war hero. She had honor, integrity, and she always put the crew's needs before her own. Commander Jane Shepard, like any true Alliance soldier, would always sacrifice herself for the greater good of the civilians that she truly served for. This mission though, even Jane thought it was going too far. It was too dangerous, the possibility of failure was too great in Jane's eyes. Captain Anderson had assured her multiple times that she would be safe, and that her sacrifice would save humanity from decades more of turmoil and war with the Turian's. She had no choice in this matter though; it has to be her. Jane Sheppard was the only one who could complete this mission.

Jane's moss green eyes looked into the mirror at a reflection she could never call her own. There she was in a poofy white gown she had sworn she would never wear. Her wild, unruly, red hair had been straightened and styled. Then finally, some Asari woman had caked Jane's face with make-up; her name had been Liara, or something like that. Jane sighed softly as she stepped away from the mirror, sickened by her own image she went and sat down on the hotel room's bed to get far away from it.

That Asari had kept telling her, as she was doing her hair and make up, how noble and good this _man _was. The asari had expressed to Jane, who was, in the rest of the galaxies eyes, lucky to soon be bonded to him. But Jane knew this Turain, he had been ruthless on the field, for every man of his she killed, he killed two of hers; she had lost too many good people to his sniper riffle. She had even lost-

A knock at the door pulled Jane out of her memories. Startled she looked up to see Captain Anderson somberly walking into the room and towards her.

"Jane," with sad eyes the man in front of her held out his hand, "It's time." Slowly, Jane slipped her small now manicured hand into his large callused ones, and stood up from the bed.

"_Time to save humanity,"_ she thought bitterly as she took hold of her wedding bouquet.

oOoOoOo

"This has to be a joke, there is no way that this could not be a joke." Nihlus paced around the room like a caged animal. "I mean seriously? Who could have come up with such a messed up thing as this if it wasn't a joke?"

Garrus sighed as he sat down on the hotel room's bed. For the first time Garrus Vakarian had given up; maybe it wasn't giving up per say, but allowing fate to take control of the situation? Garrus looked up at his childhood friend, he had been like this for days. Nihlus, at some point, became convinced that, what Garrus was being forced into, was some big running gag. Did Garrus want to bond with a human? No, even more so not with Commander Shepard. Over the years the two of them had faced off so many times on the battlefield, he couldn't even give anyone a full tally. He loathed the fact that the chemicals in his body would soon take over his mind and make him overly aware of her presence; maybe even possibly make him care for her. Garrus put his head in his hands. She had killed so many good turians with good families waiting back on their home worlds. He let out a little growl; she killed some his friends and squad mates, and now the council had come to the decision that this would lead to peace between the two cultures.

"_Whoever__came up with this, will pay."_ Garrus thought harshly, he looked back to his friend. Nihlus was still pacing, making Garrus surprised that there wasn't a trenched made by his friends movements.

"Nihlus, give it up. There's no joke, you were there when the Primarch told us of this treaty he had agreed to, and this…odd… compromise." Nihlus stopped and looked at Garrus, his mandibles going slack. "And you know the only reason why I agreed was because there was no other alternative." Nihlus shook his head slowly.

"Why though? Why push two people who want to kill each other to be bond mates?" Nihlus sat down next to his friend on the edge of the bed slowly rubbing his eyes.

"Apparently it's a human thing." Garrus sighed, he looked down next to himself and at the data pad that was all the facts he was expected to know about her. If they hadn't been enemies then he may have respected her and her family's service records. If she had been turian he may have been happy about today, but she wasn't, Jane Shepard was a pink, fleshy, thing that had a weird number of fingers and no natural armor. What were humans good for? Garrus could see no reason for them.

There was a soft knock at the door and both Turian's looked up expectantly as General Victus walked in slowly. The two Turian men got up off of the bed and stood at attention.

"At ease." Vitcus watched the two of them and he walked over. "It's time."

With that the three Turians walked out of the cramped hotel room and into what was to come.

oOoOoOo

The council had agreed that the ceremony would look Human but be Turian in vows, since human bonds could be broken, while a Turian's could not. Garrus watched as his mate to be was lead down the isle of guests that they didn't invite. A tall man with a graying fringe led her down the isle; he was Admiral Sheppard, his mate's father, as Garrus had been informed. She was dressed in a human's customary large white wedding dress with a matching veil. Garrus' interest became heightened, he had never seen her in anything other then combat armor. She was even more petite looking now then he had remembered. On the battlefield, Commander Jane Shepard, seamed like a much larger opponent, but Garrus looked at her now and realized he could easily grab her and toss her with out any difficulty. As the two humans neared, Garrus was instructed to step forward and take her hands when her father presented them to him.

Garrus straightened to his full height and he felt his fringe flair as Admiral Shepard stood in front of him with his daughter; Garrus involuntarily tried to impress his mate to be and her father. But from the Admirals reaction Garrus had made him more reluctant to give away his daughter.

_"That would work out just fine for me."_ Garrus' mind darkly whispered and he smirked at that thought. Garrus looked into the man's gray orbs that held pure loathing for the turian, Garrus' fringe deflated. The tall aging man leaned towards Garrus, and in a slow, clipped, voice he whispered quietly enough so only the three of them would hear his message loud and clear.

"If you ever hurt my baby I will find you, and turn you into my new hunting trophy." And with that the older Sheppard gently placed his daughters hands within Garrus' talons, with a quick nod to his daughter the older human marched to his seat in the crowd. Garrus led his mate to the alter; where the Primarch, General Vitus, and her superior stood waiting for the two of them. With the nod of approval from the three superiors, Garrus and Jane turned and faced each other for the first time. They had never been this close to one another; Garrus studied her face silently, she did not look at him, she actually looked everywhere but him. Did all humans look like this up close? When the ceremony hadn't started after a good moment Garrus wondered what he had forgotten to do.

"My veil, lift my veil." Garrus's eyes honed in on the woman whispering pink lips, then slowly drifted up to her eyes. Delicately, with his talons, he took the corners of the see-through fabric and gently, lifted and placed it behind her head to expose her face to the public. With a quick look over to the Primarch the ceremony started.

"Today we are here to observe the joining of the souls of Captain Garrus Vakarian and Commander Jane Shepard." The turian in front of them voice rang out into the mass of guests; it was low pitched and his sub harmonics made his voice sound even lower, "They will make a vow to one another that no one can break, from this day on their fates will be intertwined. Today they will forge a bond that will live on until we are all gone from this world. The couple will now make their promise to each other." The Primarch looked at Garrus and nodded for him to go. Garrus looked back from the primarch and back to his mate…to Jane.

Her green eyes turned to him slowly; as he took in her face he wondered what was behind those pools of deep green. Had she excepted this willingly? Or had she been kicking and screaming all the way? Did she have to give up a love back on Earth for her race? Or had she already been alone? Did she resent him, or maybe her own people? Garrus gulped and pushed his thoughts away before he went on.

"I, Garrus of Palavan, promise to you, Jane of Earth, to keep you safe and keep you content in your life. I will care for you and protect you; I will be there for you and serve your whims until on my last day when we part. On the honor of my name and crest I promise this to you, Jane of Earth." He tried to smile at her, tried to fake the promise, but he was met with a cold glare, in front of his eyes he watched the green orbs turn to ice and his mandibles couldn't help but fall a little. It wasn't until her soft voice rang out that his mandibles and fringe picked up.

"I, Jane of Earth, Promise to you, Garrus of Palavan, to respect and honor you. I will be a friend, an ally, and…lover until my last day when we part. On the honor of my name and family I promise this to you, Garrus of Palavan." Jane seamed to spit the words out with animosity. Once she was finished, the small human averted her eyes and fell silent once more.

Satisfied the Primarch cleared his throat and continued on with his speech blessing their union of spirits. It wasn't until near the end when he and everyone else in the room paused, all knowing full well what was to come.

"Now, Garrus Vakarian of Palavan, please claim your mate for the for the would to see." Garrus looked between the Primarch then to Jane and back again. Slowly and reluctantly he inched closer to Jane and lowered his head to the crook between the left side of her neck and shoulder.

"Do you accept this fate Jane?" His whispered softly into here ear.

"Bite me, cuttlebone." She snarled softly enough so only he could hear it. Garrus couldn't help but smile and even admire her fighting spirit, even if the insult was to him. Slowly he opened his mouth and flared his mandibles. He bit down on her soft, supple, skin until he felt her skin puncture and blood trickle into his mouth. Electricity raced through his body and danced across his mind. Her blood was sweet, almost two sweet for his tastes, but he seamed to be drawn to it and didn't want the too sweet taste to go away. When Garrus felt something wet drip onto his face that was when he pulled away from her. She her eyes were closed as she faced away from the crowd, and Garrus scanned her face to see little rivers running down her lightly flushed cheeks.

"May I present to the audience before us, Mr. and Mrs. Vakarian." There was a roar in the audience. It was then when he could feel it; Garrus could feel his bond to her start to link, one to the other. He now understood her silent tears, because they mimicked his own thoughts. They were trapped together, and there was nothing either of them could do.

oOoOoOo

The party was still going when Garrus and Jane made their escape. Garrus could feel Jane wasn't up for the night's festivities. After the ceremonial dinner, then the customary human slow dancing, and finally that odd human tradition with the cake cutting, Garrus had quietly suggested that the two of them sneak out and end their night early. Jane had just silently given him a stiff nod and allowed him to lead her through the mob of people and into the parking lot where their escape vehicle sat waiting for them. The driver opened the door for them and they crawled into the back seat. Jane kept her gaze away from him and stared out of her window as the car started to glide forward. They sat next to each other in complete silence, the skirt of Jane's gown seamed to fill the entire backseat. No matter how Garrus turned or shifted he was lost in a sea of white, he tried to push it away from him and to her side of the car, but finally in a huff he gave up on getting away from the strange fabric.

"I don't know why they picked this." Jane softly whispered to the silence, still looking out of her window, Garrus' fringe perked up at the sound of her voice.

"I read that it was human custom that the bride picked out her gown."

"It's also customary that the groom ask for the hand of his intended from her father, but that didn't happen, now did it?" she stated dryly.

The pair quickly fell back into silence and the driver made a turn and started up a long gated drive way. Garrus wanted to say something, he had nothing against silence, but this one was weighted with something darker. Yet what could he say? He could complement her on her good tactics during war. No, that was a bad idea. Garrus raked his mind for natural topics they could talk about. When Garrus had finally found a natural topic he felt the car stop. He shut his mouth as he slowly crawled out of the sea of white and out of the car to stare up at their new home; It was a large, un-turian like home with it's multiple stories and detailing in the white and light yellow exterior. Garrus frowned at the place he would be calling home; it wasn't a good defendable home.

"It's my house…they built me my childhood home," With slow steps Jane walked towards the door. It have been over two years since she had been home, even if this was a recreation it was still enough for Jane to finally smile. Taking the brass knob in her hand, Jane slipped her new key in and twisted it. Her heart fluttered as she gazed at the red door in front of her.

When she heard the loud click come from the lock Jane closed her eyes tightly as she pushed the front door open. Part of her mind expected to hear the sound of laughter and general chatter radiating from the family room, accompanied with the smell of a home cooked meal waft towards her, the other part of her wished for all of that to be waiting for her in side. But when Jane opened her eyes she heard and smelled nothing, instead she was welcomed to an inky blackness that had settled over the house. Jane's heart dropped a little. She knew what she wished would never be there waiting for her, but she stilled wished for it.

As Jane walked in and out of rooms she flicked on the lights as she went. The house had been upgraded and modernized, it ceilings and door frames had become to accommodate for the turians size; but other then those little things there was no difference from home. Family pictures still hung on the walls along with some of her…new husbands. She mentally shuttered at that thought. Jane passed by two bookcases next to one another; one was filled with her favorite books and little memento's she had kept all her life. While in the other case she didn't recognize a single thing that had been placed there, but one photo caught her eye. She walked closer and gently picked the glass frame up.

"That's me holding my sister for the first time." His deep voice rang out of the silence and Shepard jumped slightly then quickly looked behind her. Garrus was leaning against the doorframe leading into the study. He stood up taller as her eyes landed on him; Shepard noticed that his fringe seamed to touch the top of the doorway. Slowly he walked closer to her and looked at some of her own pictures on her bookcase. They stood there in silence looking at the others pictures and mementos; trying to learn whom the stranger they had married was. Sheppard put down that photo and grabbed another one; this one was a little less personal, a professional family photo.

"I didn't see your family at the wedding." Shepard noted the resemblance between Garrus and the older Turian he stood next to.

"My father didn't approve of our match, even if it was in my duty to… well you know. In a Turian household everyone listens and respects the… what's that term you humans use? Breadwinner? So my father, not being happy about this, didn't allow my mother and sister to go to today' s event." Garrus paused quickly, "You will meet them eventually." Garrus went back to analyzing the photo in his hands. "You look close to your family. Your father, he cares about you a lot." Jane nodded her head slowly, "And these are you and your three brothers?"

"Yeah…I'm the youngest of four."

"That's why this is so big." Garrus sneered and gestured to the house causing Jane to stifle a laugh.

"It was smaller before you came along Big Guy." Jane smiled slowly and looked over at him, her face quickly fell and she turned away from him. What was she doing? He shouldn't be making her laugh. They shouldn't be talking like this. They should be trying to kill one another, right? She loathed him and his species. Garrus sighed softly, silence fell as both of them starting trying to think of what to say to the other.

"Look, Jane, I-"

"You know what, it's late…we should… I should really get to bed…" With that, Jane darted out of the study and ran up the stairs into the master bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She pressed her back against the cool white door and sighed softly as she looking up at the ceiling. What had she gotten herself into? After a moment Jane pushed herself off of the door and walked around the light gray room, studying the unfamiliar territory. This did not feel like home to her, to Jane she felt like this was a jail.

Jane just wanted this day to end already. She just wanted to get this stupid dress off of her body. Jane reached around her back to unlace the corseted monstrosity called a gown. She growled; the Asari had done the lacing too tight along with the knots so there was no way she could get out of the dress alone.

"That bitch."

oOoOoOo

Garrus didn't know what to do with himself; he just stood in the spot Jane had left him in. He stood there gazing at the doorway she had just run out of, and the stairs she had trampled up. This entire situation had been a terrible idea, whoever had come up with bonding a turian and human together was an idiot. Two cultures that had been torn apart by war were now being forced together in one household. Garrus didn't know the first thing about normal human patterns. Was it this customary for human women to be cold towards their mates? What did she expect from him? What should he expect from her? Who's culture would they fallow? It wasn't turian, Garrus knew that for sure, if it had been she should have started her nesting and preening the two of them. Garrus sighed as his mind lingered on the idea of her preening and fussing over him. He shook his head as he let out a low growl; he shouldn't be thinking of a human doing that to him, good turians did not think of that with humans. Next thing Garrus knew he would want to be with her, and then it would hurt not being with his mate. He didn't want that, he didn't want any of that.

When they had shared just a moment of time together, and she smiled at him for the first time Garrus had felt his heart flutter and the new bonding chemicals start to try and push him to the woman. Garrus sighed and rubbed his temples. This entire turn of events was one giant headache. One day they were fighting each other trying to kill the other and then the next they were bonded. He was about to walk upstairs to their room, but then he stopped at the third step. He should sleep on the couch, give each other space, and give her the bedroom. He wouldn't want to sleep in the same room with her anyways. Garrus was about to turn around and head to the living room when he heard a faint call of his name. He looked up the stairs and heard a door being opened.

"Garrus… I need help, with my dress." With that Garrus found himself barreling up the stairs and into the bedroom. He found himself chest to chest with Jane as his heart pounded. She looked away, her face looked like a normal humans now, except it was now very pink and her fringe was down; this made Garrus wonder if this long length was normal for a human woman's fringe.

"It's a corset… I can't get out of the dress alone." With that she turned her back to him and lifted her long hair off her neck and back. With delicate talons Garrus untied the knots and loosened the laces. With every correct tug more and more of her skin became exposed, Garrus noticed all the muscled fleshy bits and in the back of his mind he wondered what it would feel like to rake his talons softy over her flesh. He closed his eyes and shook his head to try and clear the images that were bubbling up. If he weren't carful she would know just what he was thinking without the use of the link.

_"Just an automatic response to my mate because of the chemicals…" _his mind used sound rational.

Slowly the white mass pooled at Jane's feet and Garrus adverted his eyes from her practically naked form. He could hear her walk to the other side of the room opening and closing draws. Swearing under her breath when she couldn't find what she wanted. With a sigh he finally spoke to the floor in front of him "If you want I can go sleep on the couch, I don't mind." But Garrus' sub harmonics seamed to disagree with him, Garrus grimaced at that. Jane paused in her dig; she stood there deep in thought. With a small sigh she went back to digging and finally spoke.

"Don't Turian's have specific beds for nesting? I mean I don't want to make you sleep on the couch if that will cause any harm. Any ways the bed in here is big enough for four people, we will have plenty of room if we keep to our own sides." Finally at some point Shepard had found what she was looking for and got dressed. Garrus turned and looked at her as she crawled into the bed, he watched her as she sat in the bed, watching him right back. Jane cocked her head and looked at him with a question in her eyes, and Garrus couldn't help but stand taller in her gaze.

"Well, I want to go to bed, so are you getting in or not?" with that Garrus quickly shut the door, turned of the light and stripped down to nothing. Quickly and quietly he slipped into the bed next to his bond mate who had promptly curled up on her side with her back next to him. He was about to say goodnight when he heard her breathing evened out and deepened. He laid there in the dark staring up at the white ceiling wondering about the future and asking him self if this up and down fickleness of his mate would always be this way.


	2. Chapter 2: Family

_AN: Thank you again to the ever amazing Im The Sweet for being my Beta reader and putting up with all my random messages and weirdness. Re written (6/20 ) new scene added no big plot points added. Comments and reviews are always nice and appreciated! :D_

Chapter Two: Family

Jane awoke the next morning slowly as sunlight danced through the lightly colored room. She was pressed against the warm and leathery thing in her bed, she couldn't quite remember what it was, but all Jane knew she liked the feel of it next to her. As Jane snuggled closer to the object a purring sound seamed to reverberate around the room. Slowly, as she became more conscious, the memories from the day before started to trickle into her mind. The white dress, her father's arm linked with hers, the sad look from her teammates as she passed them, and then him stand there at the end of the isle waiting for her.

Jane's eyes flew open and looked at the soft grey plate she had snuggled up against during the night. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked down at the Turian lying next to her. Her eyes were wide as she took in his bare form; he was large for what she had seen of Turian's. Not large as in fat but he was tall and broad chested. And what she had gathered from the reception last night was that Garrus was good looking for a Turian male. She had seen the looks females of his kind had given him, which he either ignored or didn't notice. Maybe he didn't care?

His markings were interesting; she had never seen many that were a blue like his before. Garrus' markings were a beautiful cobalt, and the marks swept along underneath his eyes and framed the jagged edges of his plates, reminding her of Native American war paint. Jane's eyes drifted to the arm that hand snaked around her hips sometime during the evening and his hand had splayed out over her stomach. His grip was soft enough where he would not hurt her but it was protectively around her so she couldn't easily roll away from him.

Jane had never been this close to a live turian, She had seen them in their armor in battle as they ducked for cover, and she had seen the bodies strewn around the battlefield, but never a real, living, breathing, and… naked turian up close. Curiously Jane softly touched his talons; they had obviously been dulled and cut to a rounded shape to not hurt himself or others, but if need be they could still do damage with enough force. Slowly her curious fingers crept up his arm and on to his chest plates, gently enough to not disturb him from slumber. She knew she shouldn't touch him, Jane knew she should be repulsed by the idea, but curiosity overwhelmed her. The slate gray plates had looked rough and jagged, almost painful to the touch, but when she ran her fingers over their edges she realized that they felt like soft worn leather. Just like Jane's fathers motorcycle jacket, Jane smiled softly at the faint memory. There were scars within the plates, some were jagged lines while others were old gun shot wounds that had healed over. Jane remembered being the cause of some of them, and like Garrus, Jane had some of the same healed wounds from his sniper riffle.

Jane had lost track what time it was or how long she had been looking at Garrus until her eyes drifted up to his face to see the glazed over, crystalline blue, eyes observing all of her movements. His mandibles flared open a little in what she guessed must have been a smirk.

"Like what you see, Jane Vakarian?" Garrus spoke slowly; his voice was laced with sleep and a deep hum from his sub harmonics filled the air. She couldn't tell if he was picking on her or flirting, but no matter what, something about his voice made her heart flutter. What scared and confused her though was somewhere in the back of Jane's mine she liked that feeling, not that she would ever admit that out loud.

"Sorry." She stated quickly and scooted away from him, "I must have gotten cold during the night or something." She murmured as she almost slipped out of Garrus' grasp, until she felt his hand wrap around her wrist keeping her successfully in place.

"Jane," She turned and looked at him, Garrus had pushed himself into a sitting position, "We don't know each other more then our battle tactics. I don't know your culture, and you don't know mine either, but I have made a promise to you. I would be a bad turian to not keep that and not treat you like I would a mate I picked and cared for prior to the bonding." Silence lingered between them. Jane didn't know what to say to that; she felt like she should say something witty or maybe even a smartass remark, but every time she opened her mouth nothing came out.

"I'm going to get coffee." She finally blurted out, Garrus' mandibles fell slack as he sighed and let go of her. She looked away from him and slid off the plush bed. Once her feet hit the hardwood floor we was off to the kitchen to try and find that substance to kick-start her brain, and far away from the thing in her bed that confused her. Jane went down the stairs double time. What did he think he was doing? With being nice and trying to make her comfortable, maybe even happy one day; they should have turned the house into a war zone, trying to murder the other one, but no, she woke up snuggling him and he flirted with her. She should be repulsed, her skin should have crawled at his touch, but most of all Jane should have told him to never be in the same room as her.

Jane walked into the sunny, happy, kitchen and started to fix herself coffee. She tried desperately to forget the confusing alien in her bed.

oOoOoOo

Garrus watched Jane leave the bedroom, once he heard her trample down the stairs he let out a small breath he had been holding in. What was he doing? He should have slept on the couch or the guest room. They were sworn enemies yesterday and now his instincts were telling him to dote on her. With a deep grumble he rolled out of the large bed and strolled into the connecting bathroom. Maybe a shower would give him clarity on his thoughts of the confusing alien he had woken up next to. The talons on his toes clicked against the chilled tiled floor, the room was large enough for him to move around in comfortably and like everything in this house this room was neutral colored to not offend either of their tastes. Garrus quickly slipped into the glass-enclosed shower and once the hot water hit and ran in between his plates, his mind was finally allowed to start wandering.

Garrus had read Jane's files over and over again in the months leading up to their union. He knew every fact that had been in there from her early childhood till the day the fighting had ceased in the "first contact war" as the humans had called it. Earth born, in some place called Vermont, her paternal grandparents had emigrated from England and found a chunk of land in Vermont. Her mother's family though, seamed to never stay in one place long, constantly moving and exploring the world. Her father was in the Alliance since he had turned eight-teen. He married Jane's mother when he was twenty and she was eight-teen and had their first child six months later.

Jane was born on April 11th, 2134 and she had three older brothers each one was two years older then the last. All four of the Shepards had followed in their father's footsteps and joined the Alliance on their eighteenth birthdays. Jane went up rank quickly due to a mix of her name and her skill… that, Garrus could confirm. Her two oldest brothers had passed away in action, information pertaining to their death was classified, but there had been a side note that both of their last missions had been in the same platoon as Jane; this caused Garrus to make the very real assumption that she had watched both of them pass right in front of her.

But those were facts typed on a data pad, not real life. They were made to help the two simulate a real relationship. Garrus noticed it never stated in the data pad how her green eyes were so expressive, or how soft her skin was for a warrior of her caliber, or how she even talked in her sleep so quietly his translator couldn't pick it up, and he knew it never stated what it felt like to wake up with her fingers gently running over the wounds she had given him.

With a sigh the turian leaned up against the wall of the shower, what had he gotten himself into? Frustrated Garrus turned the water off; he grabbed one of the cream towels and started to dry off as he walked back into the bedroom. He rummaged through draws to find a simple pair of lounge pants, remembering the note he had read about how most humans did not agree with nudity. Once the pants were found, he slipped the soft material onto his body and walked down to the kitchen.

He found the confusing female in front of the sink staring out of the window into the back yard, clutching a mug in both of her hands. Garrus stood there and observe how the sun touched her skin giving her a light glow from the early morning. She wasn't that bad looking, he guessed. Her features were softened with her wild, flame colored, fringe. Her skin was fair in color making her plump pink lips and wide green eyes stand out. She had to be attractive for a human, Garrus had observed the males of her kind, and they had looked at her with intense interest last night, but she didn't seam to notice. Maybe it was a human thing to ignore the gaze of potential suitors? But it was not a turian thing to ignore the potential threats of other males, every time Garrus had caught their eyes he let out a little growl of warning, making the human males quickly avert their eyes.

Garrus gulped, he didn't understand what this feeling was, he had found himself wanting to protect the small human, and keep her close to him, but Garrus had never been attracted to any of her kind before, it was odd. He found their fleshy bits odd, their fringe could be morphed into what it wasn't naturally, but most of all they were small and delicate. How could he trust himself around his mate if he knew he could break her bones so easily? So what was this feeling of excitement for as he looked upon her? Garrus sighed deeply and watched Jane for a moment before she turned around and watched him stand in the entry way. He watched her green eyes slide over him, cautiously calculating the situation.

"Good morning Vakarian, I made you some tea… I read that most of your kind can drink human tea… so I thought…If you don't-"

"Thank you, I was going to make myself some." Garrus walked towards the island where the steaming blue mug sat. They stood there eyeing one another, the island of the kitchen separating the two. Jane being satisfied that everything was okay for the moment, turned her back to Garrus and went back to looking out of the window. With tentative steps Garrus crossed towards Jane to see what she was staring at. Out side of the window lay nice, medium sized, back yard with dark green grass and a white fence around the perimeter. Even though the area was spacious and pleasant there seamed to be something missing. The area was void of anything, it was just a green space. Maybe the fact that it was just the two of them in this large house alone made the yard seam a lot larger and emptier then it should have been… this house had been obviously designed for a large family, not a turian and his human mate.

"I'm going to make a garden." Jane stated as she walked out of the kitchen, coffee cup in hand. She climbed up stairs to get changed, as she walked away, somewhere in the back of Garrus's mind he wondered what a half-turian half-human child would look like running around the back yard, but he would never admit that he though of that.

oOoOoOo

"Mom, I'm fine, really." Jane interrupted her mother on the other end of her omni tool as she pulled weeds out of the mix of flowers. Her mother went on about all the problems that could occur from her being left alone with a turian. "Mom seriously, I'm fine, we leave each other alone to do our own things."

"Jane, your father says-"

"I love dad, but I'm fine," and Jane was fine. Garrus and her talked only when necessary, interacted almost none, and after the first night Jane had taken up sleeping in the guest room. Jane's mom fell silent.

"If you truly are fine then, I won't say any more on the matter…We still think maybe you should come home for a bit."

"I would love to mom but-" Jane pulled on a deep-rooted weed. As she felt the root give, She could feel herself starting to fall. Jane's ass hit the ground hard, she groaned softly as she pushed herself off the ground, " but I cant, we're under district arrest." They were only allowed to go to the grocery store and a few other establishments in the suburbia they were subjected too. Jane could hear her mom sigh softly on the other end of the connection.

"Well, we all love you. Your brother miss's you like crazy, you should talk to him more."

"Alright, I need to go, mom." Jane smiled as she wiped her muddy hands on her old, patched up, overalls. With that, the two women said their goodbyes, and ended the connection. Jane sighed at the realization she had as silence washed over the yard; Jane missed her home on Earth. She picked up her tools quickly and put them away in the shed. Jane stretched her now tired muscles, now it was time for a shower. Then she could possibly order take out, curl up on the couch with a movie and a beer. Yes that was what Jane would do, she decided as she pulled off her mud caked shoes and left them on the back porch.

Jane took the stairs two at a time as she quickly unhooked the straps to the tattered overalls. When she had entered the master bedroom, without a passing thought, Jane took off her dirty clothing and tossed them into the hamper as she walked into the empty bathroom. The hot shower was what Jane needed to relieve her tired and sore limbs. She washed away all the grime and sweat she had worked up and watched it swirl down into the drain.

Jane stepped out of the glass enclosed shower and wrapped a cream towel around her body and walked back into the master bedroom to grab a change of clothing, just to be met with a shocked looking Garrus Vakarian. He was sitting in one of the armchairs near the floor to ceiling window. His mandibles were slack and his eyes were as wide as saucers, the data pad that he had been holding had fallen out of his talons and onto the floor. Jane stopped in her tracks and stared at him. Water dripped off of her and onto the wood floor.

"How long have you been there?" Jane asked in a hushed breath.

"Long enough," He whispered back, hinting to what he had seen. Jane felt her face turn red with embarrassment as Garrus looked away. With a pregnant pause Garrus got up from the chair, grabbing his data pad, and walked out of the room shutting the door behind him. Jane starred at the door before going toward the dresser, grabbing her comfy clothes and quickly putting them on. Jane grabbed a hair tie and pushed her damp hair into a large messy bun a she hopped down the stairs and to the kitchen to grab the Chinese take out menu. Jane found Garrus standing in the kitchen looking at a menu for something. Jane cleared her throat as she walked in, Garrus turned and looked at her.

"Oh, I-" Garrus paused and sighed, "Do you want to call in something tonight? I read somewhere that this… food… if you want to call it that… is enjoyed by humans all over. I thought that since they now serve Dextro versions of everything on the menu, that maybe you and I could have dinner…together." Garrus held up the take out menu Jane had intended to grab. His eyes seamed to be pleading for her to agree with his request. In all honesty Jane was a social creature and missed being with people; even if Garrus was turian, she was stuck with him. Jane looked between him and the menu and gave Garrus a quick nod. It couldn't hurt, it was just one dinner, and it wasn't like they were going to be separated any time soon.

They sat together on the couch eating the Chinese food, drinking, and talking as they watched movies from the others culture until the early hours of the morning. Jane didn't realize until that night when she had gone to bed how much she missed talking and laughing with others. As Jane fell asleep she couldn't help but think that Garrus wasn't all that bad, even if he was turian. Maybe if he had been human Jane would have fallen for him that night, if he had been human, Jane would be imagining their life together as a couple. But Garrus was a turian, so Jane dreamed of a world where that didn't matter.

oOoOoOo

Days passed, then days turned into weeks, which turned into months. The two of them kept the same schedule during their required time off. They would wake up, have small talk over tea and coffee, Jane would go out and work in the garden. Meanwhile Garrus cleaned and calibrated his sniper riffles. They would then meet for lunch and inform the other about what they had accomplished so far in their day. Again after that they would part until dinner, where they would talk about the second half of their days, and have random conversations about whatever the other could think of.

Garrus had learned that Jane had been a tomboy growing up, but secretly loved to cook and garden. While he had informed her that he had never had a close-knit family, and how he would sneak away to his friends Nihlus's house where he was treated like a second son. It wasn't just secrets they discussed, no they would talk about a mix of things, ranging from movies they grew up with to who beat who in the war.

"Don't you remember Shanxi? I beat you in that one, you can not deny that." Jane pointed out as she washed a pan. Their argument through dinner stretched into the clean up.

"Okay but what about Epyrus and Gothis. I had you in a corner and-"

"-And I got out with out any of my men dead. It was unfair odds, the weather sucked, and you had colony advantage."

"Bad weather is not an excuse to loose a mission Jane. How ever did your superiors allow your back mouthing and excuses?" Garrus chuckled as he dried the pan she had pushed to his chest.

"Easy, the old bastards just nodded when I proposed a new course of action, and let me go do my thing since I delivered results." Jane started to put away the newly washed dishes stretching up on her tippy toes to reach the shelf. Garrus looked over at her with a small smile, they had been mated for three months in total and they may have not been romantic, but she had opened up to him nicely. He would even be bold enough to call them friends.

His eyes slipped down her neck and to the scar he had given her, every time he looked at it his blood pumped a little faster. He was bonded with her all right, excitement filled him when he felt her near and when she was too far from him he became anxious and nervous. He would find himself pulling at the link between them to give him constant updates on her well being and to see if he could do anything to make her happier. He had read and been told that most turian males were the weaker and more clingy of the two sexes, when it came to mating, but he had never believed it. Garrus' eyes traveled to her face, he didn't believe them until now when he would worry over a little cut from one of her thorny human flowers.

"So, I was thinking that maybe since its been a few months, that it might be a nice idea that we have a nice dinner… with both of our families… here… at the same time." Jane spoke slowly and softly. Garrus had expected this question to come up soon, Jane had been talking and thinking of her family a lot recently he had noticed, she must have been home sick.

"If you want to… I see no reason not to but-" before Garrus could finish he heard a loud thank you and felt her practically jump onto him causing him to stand there in shock. Before he new it Garrus had wrapped his arms tightly around her delicate form and pressed his forehead against hers, in a turian kiss. Jane stilled in his arms knowing full well what he was doing and without thinking she slowly relaxed into the embrace. She had grown attached to him, even if every instinct in her told her not to because of all the blood on both of their hands. Garrus' sub harmonics flared to life betraying how happy he was in that moment alone with his mate, who was now happy with him.

oOoOoOo

Jane and Garrus ran around the house cleaning and prepping, both of their families would be there any minute, and neither of them understood why they hadn't finished this cleaning sooner. Both a levo and dextro meal were in the oven and almost done, two bottles of wine were sitting on ice awaiting the guests, and both Jane and Garrus were partially dressed in the chaos soon to be called the first dinner with the family.

So maybe Jane was putting on a front as the house wife with the gardening, cooking, and now the nice dress blouse and slacks, but she chose to do this… she was a woman after all, she didn't just like shooting, war games, and fixing old military equipment. She chose to play house, and to her surprise, Jane liked it. She liked having a home again that wasn't a cold ship floating through space. She liked the lack of adventure and liked the routine of being in one place. Jane liked having the sunlight on her back as she cared for her plants and not wounded men. She liked hot meals instead of packages of bland MRE's. But most of all she, surprisingly, liked her home with her companion more then some of the people she had in her unit. As Jane was slipping on her other shoe she heard the doorbell ring. With quick nimble steps she ran down the stairs and into the main hallway, meeting Garrus before either of them got to the door.

"Took the turian dinner out of the oven, it is done and looks very good. I don't know about your human dish though, left it in for a little bit longer incase." He quickly said as they slowly walked to the door. Both were trying to mentally prepare them selves for who ever was the first family to come in.

"Thank you, you ready?" Jane looked up at Garrus who gave her a quick nod as Jane reached the door. She quickly opened it to just be met by a giant pot of blue hydrangeas that were being pushed into her face. Her family, Jane took a sigh of relief while Garrus stood up a little taller and his fringe seamed to poof up a little more.

"Here honey, I brought you these from the house. I know how much you love them. What a gorgeous place! It look's just like house back on Earth, just modernized! I like, it's so…Urban…Oh sweet heart we should do something like this to the house back in Vermont, you know I've been wanting to redo it for a long time…" Jane's mother, Juliet, pushed past her daughter and Garrus into the home to analyze everything, to Garrus it seamed like the older woman never took a breath. Juliet was a short pudgy woman with short curly red hair that had started to gray, but her age never slowed her movements or her mouth.

Jane stepped back and smiled at her brother and her father who were quietly standing there waiting to come in. Jane set the pot of flowers down on the side table and smiled at the two men.

"Hey Dad. Hi Joker." Jane whispered and gave them both a hug. She could hear her mother wandering through the house talking to herself… or maybe she had ahold onto Garrus' ear? Slowly the two other men walked in and shut the door behind them.

"How was the ride here, did you find it ok?" Jane asked softly to not draw the attention of her mother.

"Yeah no it was fine, we just told the cab driver to bring us to the home of the human turian family." Joker smiled softly "Seams like you guys are getting a fan base." Jane rolled her eyes and looked at her father who was staring (glaring) at Garrus, who had, in deed, been trapped by her mother's long winded, one sided conversation about some "cute little shop" on the citadel she had found, and this beautiful hat that she just HAD to get before their vacation ended and went back to Earth.

"Dad, it's fine. Everything is ok." Jane touched her dad's hand to get his attention. He just gave her a slight nod and turned his attention back to Garrus and her mother. Joker looked at Jane and shrugged.

"You got anything to drink, I am parched honey!" Jane's mother yelled over to her. With that the group of them walked into the kitchen. Jane pointed out to where the cups were as she peeked into the oven at the chicken potpie, slowly she pulled out the now golden pie and set it on the counter to cool enough to be served. When Juliet finished her glass of water, to her father's and brother's dismay, she grabbed Garrus' hand and stated to pat it as she started her conversation with him again.

"I am so rude, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Juliet Moreau-Shepard, this is my husband, Jane's father, Alfred Shepard, but we call him Al for short. And this is my little baby Jeff Moreau-Shepard, Jane's youngest older brother… but for some odd reason his little friends call him Joker. I don't understand kid's these days with nick names that don't make since…" She kept going on with her rant, but no one really listened after that.

At some point Jane could hear the doorbell ring a second time, Garrus and Jane looked at each other with wide eyes before they excused themselves to go answer the door. Together the two of them stood in front of the red door looking at it, both trying to get ready for what was to come. Slowly Jane, with Garrus standing behind her, opened the front door with a smile plastered to her face. She was greeted by three turians standing on her stoop. Garrus's mother and sister looked pleased to see the two of them while his father had the sourest look on his face.

"Welcome! We are both glad you all could make it, please come in." Jane sidestepped out of the doorway. The small group stepped into the home quietly. It wasn't until Jane shut the door behind them when she heard one of Garrus's family members speak.

"It is nice to finally meet my brother's bond mate. I am Solana, you may call me Sol, if you wish." The younger, shorter, beige turian smiled at Jane as she came closer, once they were in front of one another Sol took Jane's hands into hers and pressed the side of her face against Jane's before stepping away. "This is our mother, Amora." The older woman stepped closer to Jane and gave her the same greeting that her daughter had given her. "Finally this is our father Bellus." Jane looked at the slate gray turian, who looked like a much older version of Garrus. She smiled slowly at the older turian, but he did not move or give her a greeting like Sol and Amora had, he just stood there glaring at her. With a slow nod Jane led them into the dinning room for dinner.

oOoOoOo

The dinner, in Garrus' option, was awkward. Jane's father and his never stopped glaring at one another. Jane's mother seamed to start talking about anything she could think of, she even at one point started talking about Jeff's love life and how he needed to find his own mate, so she could have grandchildren, since Jane and Garrus weren't going to have any. Jeff/Joker made comments about turian/human get together being a great idea after having a war with each other, and how he didn't realize that they had gone back in time to dark ages with the arranged marriage. Garrus' mother and sister would comment every now and then how good Jane's dextro cooking was, even though Jane was a human and Garrus couldn't have made it, since it wasn't like a good bonded male turian to make his own dinner. All the while Jane just pushed her food around the plate muttering how much of a bad idea this was to him, and repeating, "You should have told me this was a bad idea".

Finally at some point, the dinner had finished, the families had said their goodbyes and left, promising to see one another again during the time they were staying on the Citadel. When Jane closed the door Garrus was standing right behind her with two glasses and the second bottle of wine that no one had touched. Jane pressed her back to the door with her head in her hands. As she slid down the door Garrus sat down next to her, silently pouring her a glass of the dark red wine.

"It wasn't that bad." He whispered as Jane took a giant gulp of wine he offered her. She slowly looked over at him and laughed. It was a full body laugh that Garrus couldn't help but join in. "So, that may have been a lie." Garrus confessed with a smile as her giggling died down.

"You think?" Garrus rested his head against the door and looked over at her. Her cheeks were pink from the rush of wine into her system. Slowly she unraveled her hair and let the fiery red curls fall down her shoulder. Jane took another gulp of wine and looked over at Garrus, her eyelids were heavy and her eyes were glassy, filled with a mix of unshed tears and something Garrus couldn't distinguish.

"Your sister seams nice," Jane looked away from him and down the hall "I like her. Your father he's…well…" Jane sighed softly and didn't continue on

"He's old fashioned, he'll get over it." Garrus finished for her.

"Your father and mine couldn't stop locking eyes, I was afraid they were going to jump each other and try and kill the other with the butter knives."

"And here I couldn't help but think they would be the best of friends." Jane laughed at that, it had become sadder then the first. Garrus put his hand on her knee and gave it a squeeze.

"My mother likes you."

"Your mother likes anyone who will stay quiet long enough during her little breaks so she can keep going." Garrus retorted.

"Point for Mr. Vakarian." Jane took the last gulp of wine and looked over at him again.

"Dinner was good, two points for Mrs. Vakarian." He whispered softly and rested his forehead against hers. He was gladly surprised when he felt her hand rest against the side of his face and begin to lightly stroke his warn mandible there.

"I'm glad someone enjoyed it, even if our families hate each other. Do you want to know a secret?" She asked with a smile, Garrus nodded weakly. Jane set her empty glass on the hardwood floor. His heart fell when she pulled away from him but as soon as he knew it Jane had swung her leg over, pushing her entire body against his and pressed her forehead against his. Garrus' arms instinctively wrapped around Jane slender frame, trapping her against his body, so she would never pull away from him again. Jane's hand snaked up his chest and up behind his fringe.

"I don't care." She whispered as she stroked the delicate skin that rested there.

Garrus could not hide his excitement and want for the human woman in his lap any longer. Silently and with out breaking contact with her, Garrus got up and led them to their bedroom. That night Garrus showed his mate how much he had learned to care for her, and that night Jane let him.


	3. Chapter 3: Improbable

_AN: Thank you to Im The Sweet for being my Beta and rereading over all my updated chapters! Thank you to everyone who its fallowing this story and supporting me along the way. Looked over and updated (6/24 ), no major plot changes. Mild changes. Comments and constructive criticism is always nice and appreciated greatly! New chapters coming soon!_

Chapter Three: Improbable

Garrus rolled over with a soft grumble as he wrapped an arm around Jane's waist, who automatically curled closer to him in her sleep. It had been a few days since the awkward family dinner, also when Jane had truly became his mate. Sadly their days together had come to an end, and it was time for Garrus to go to work at the job the Council had pushed him into with C-Sec. He didn't want to go; he didn't want to leave her here alone yet.

Jane had been honorably discharged after the ceremony and had nothing lined up for work yet, not that she needed to. Garrus didn't push her to make a decision; he could tell that she was already confused about being discharged, she had done everything right and laid her own life and future on the line for her people; then they abandoned her in this situation alone with him. Everything that had been her life was pulled out from under her feet and Jane didn't know where to go. Garrus had heard the snippets of the one sided conversations she had with her parents about what she would do next for work. They expected her to go off and have a plan of action good enough for a former Alliance soldier. The two of them had never asked her what she wanted to do, or suggested that maybe it was time for her to take a break after her ten years of service and being away from a normal life; so she could relearn who Jane was. No, they expected her to go back into some fight.

Garrus slowly nuzzled the woman lying next to him who let out and agitated grumble. Jane just pushed him away and rolled over sticking her head under the pillow to go back into the comatose she called sleep. With a chuckle Garrus rolled out of the bed and got ready for his first day back in the real world. Yes, he would miss her company today.

oOoOoOo

Jane walked slowly through the bustling streets of the Citadel, she had spent the first half the day investigating the lower and upper wards, and now she was walking through the presidium commons, trying to find some restaurant that Joker had texted her about, telling her to meet him there for lunch. Once she spotted the neon sign she smiled and pushed towards the glow through the throng of people. People from all different races and creeds buzzed around the petite human as she tried to make her way through the crowds. It was new for Jane to see all the different races integrated so well with each other.

_"Except you."_ Jane's mind whispered. She and her prominent mark had gotten many looks through out the day, she could hear people whisper to one another, Jane's translator would pick up a few words from the hushed conversation. The few words were enough to understand that they were talking about her. At times during Jane's journey the crowds would part ways staring wide-eyed at her; like she had been part of a freak show. She ignored it as best she could, that was until she had run into a group of turians. Jane could hear the slurs under their breath as they each bumped into her when they walked passed. She didn't let it faze her visibly, but inside her home she had forgotten how long the war had droned on. In side her home she had forgotten how cruel people were.

Jane pushed the thoughts away as she opened the door to the restaurant with a large smile on her face. Seeing Joker sitting alone in a booth she quickened her steps as she crossed the room, silence fallowing in her wake. Joker looked up and smiled softly as he got up and hobbled over to her. She hugged him gently and kissed his cheek.

"I see you still know how to make an entrance." Joker laughed grimly as they sat down.

"Always." Jane spoke softly as she adjusted her tank top. She picked up a menu and looked it over.

"There's an insert of human cuisine now but I already ordered you a burger and fries… you know cause you probably don't have normal food in your dextro house hold… Or are you just eating seeds with your bird- I mean husband." Jane looked up and gave her brother a death glare, which he just held up his hands in defense. "Sorry, sorry. That was in really bad taste. It's just weird for me to have to switch my tasteless jokes for my… brother in-law and my sister to not kill me."

"You just sound like dad is all." Jane grumbled as she looked over the full menu, she took note of the mix of levo and dextro meals. "Speaking of which, how are the parental units?"

"Mom's the same, she can't stop talking about how sweet Garrus seems to be and how nice the dinner was. She's still as clueless and innocent as ever. Dad on the other hand," Joker took in a pained breath, "Well he's still fuming and has made it his quest to find a loophole in Turian law to get you a divorce; BUT he isn't alone in this endeavor, oh no!" Jane just raised her eyebrow at her brother's faked enthusiasm.

"Okay…" Jane was worried for what would come out of Joker's mouth next.

"Dad's little helper is, drum roll please! Kaidan." Jane visibly flinched at the sound of her ex's name. Joker looked at her with and apologetic look.

Jane had been engaged once before her union with Garrus to her ex named Kaidan. They had been happy together, well so she though. They had been high school sweet hearts and after their graduation the two had decided to start a future together. That was what they wanted, until one day Jane found him in the arms of her maid of honor, and best friend, Ashley Williams. Jane had left him quickly and never looked back; but Kaidan, being the lovesick puppy that he was, followed her into the Alliance, through N-7 training, and then even into her unit. The entire time he was trying to convincer her the entire thing that happened was a mistake, what happened with Ashley meant nothing to him, and how he would never love anyone like he loved her. He was relentless and had never taken no or goodbye as an answer from Jane.

"Why would he be helping?" Jane sneered in disgust.

"Cause he's a douche, that's why." The siblings fell into a comfortable silence. Joker looked up at his sister with a serious face before she spoke up again.

"Garrus seems like he treats you really well, maybe even truly cares about you. I think…that even though you both were forced into this, he gives you the respect Kaidan never did." Joker paused, "I don't think dad will ever forgive or forget what happened on those two missions when we lost our brother. Mom, even though she misses Jack and Josh, She accepted what happened and has moved on. And, well, I on the other hand," Joker sighed softly and grabbed his sisters hand from across the table, "I will do my best to support you two… who knows maybe Garrus and I will have a bromance. As long as Garrus keeps treating you like this, then I'm happy that you're obviously happy."

"I am." Jane smiled slowly at her brother, who for the first time truly smiled back at her. "Lets talk about something else, this is too serious for you." Jane stated as she put down the menu then looked back up at her brother.

Joker went on to talk about a mass of things. He was now planning on moving to the Citadel, because their parents were driving him bat shit insane, and he knew Jane should have someone here to keep her in line when Garrus is out of the house. Then Joker went on to how he might just buy a small ship big enough for himself and fly around the galaxy like a mad man, but it was the final thing that got to Jane.

"I'm going to find someone who would want to be in my little dingy of a ship, and egg me on, to push me and the ship to its limits, just because they want to be with me." Their lunch came and they ate mediocre burgers in silence.

oOoOoOo

Garrus walked through the front door just to be welcomed by the smell of something simmering in the kitchen. He smiled as he dropped his bag next to the coat rack and closed the door behind him silently. With quiet and quick steps he made his way to the kitchen to Jane. As he entered the kitchen he could hear her humming a tune he did not recognize, with a smile Garrus wrapped his arms around Jane's waist, who then quickly screeched in surprise and elbowed him in the solar plexus; successfully making Garrus let go of her. He stager backwards, out of breath.

"Good to know you haven't gotten rusty with your defensive training." Garrus finally breathed out on labored breaths. He looked up at Jane who stood there with wide eyes.

"Are you ok?" She asked slowly, Garrus nodded slowly as he rested his weight on the kitchen island.

"Fine honey. Completely fine!" Garrus gave her a fake smile as he stood up tall. Jane, satisfied with the lie, turned back to the stovetop and gave her attention to the simmer contents in the two different pots.

"How was your day?" She asked softly as she took the green lid off the levo pot and tasted the contents. Satisfied Jane put the lib back on and slowly turned to Garrus, who was now perched on one of the stools to the island of the kitchen. Jane watched him as he sat there, poking the bunch of banana's she had picked up from the market while she had been out that day. She cleared her throat to bring his attention back to her question that had not yet been answered.

"Good, everything was great." He said dully, his brow plates were knit in confusion as he stared at the yellow phallic things sitting on their island.

"Bullshit." She stated as she rescued her bananas from his evil talons. Garrus sighed and looked up at her, his brows slowly un-knit.

"The place is covered in red tape. Today, I needed to pull files for a new case that had come in today and was assigned to me. Because of the similarities, I suspected the same person in my case was the cause for some others that had gone cold. When I went to pull them, I found that they had been sealed and restricted to just for Executor Pallin. I went and asked him why I couldn't see the files, and he just laughed." Garrus sighed, "I can't bring bad guys to justice if politics will always get in the way. " Garrus pushed him self up and off the stool just as Jane turned to the stovetop.

He walked around, wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his mates back against his chest. Jane smiled slowly as she started to hum some melody she had been singing before. Even though he didn't know the song personally, it's soft, almost haunting, melody still calmed his nerves and tension gained from the day of work.

"I heard being a vigilante doesn't pay well or have any benefits, but you don't have to deal with red tape. The only thing you have to deal with is just the ratio of how many heat sinks you have left and how many enemies left to kill." Jane quipped.

"Cause you know, Jane, that's a great idea when you have a house and bond mate waiting for you every night. Thanks for the bagged lunch honey, I'm just going to go to Omega now and use the merc's as target practice. Be back for dinner!" Garrus joked and smiled softly down at Jane.

In all seriousness Garrus wouldn't tell her how bad the day had gone. He wouldn't tell her about the turians he worked with, who kept asking what it felt like to be sleeping with a stupid pyjak. He also wouldn't tell her about some of them who had offered money under the table to try it out as if she was some sort of child's toy. He wanted to kill these things that posed as his kind, but the thought of being caught and tried for murder made him pause. Garrus nuzzled his face against Jane's neck and let out a soft purr with his sub harmonics. He felt her relax in his grasp as she continued to stir the contents in the pots. He would ignore what they said at the office, because no matter what people thought, this was his mate.

"Okay big guy, dinner's ready." She smiled and playfully pushed him away from her. He smiled and looked down at her, no, he would never tell her.

oOoOoOo

Garrus sat across the table from the lithe black turian, who's smug smiled had been smeared across his face. Garrus blinked once, twice, three times before any words were able to form cohesive thoughts.

"Geeze Garrus, don't jump at the opportunity like a mad man or anything." Nihlus smirked at his friend as he reached down and took a sip from the tumbler in front of him.

"I don't know what to say." Garrus whispered at the thought of what his friend had proposed to him, Spectre Garrus Vakarian. This was supposed to be Garrus' dream. If it was, then why was there a weight that had crept into his chest and doubts circling around his mind.

"Say yes, then you and I can run across the galaxy together. Shooting down bad guys, doing dangerous shit, and breaking hearts all along the way… just like when we were young and enlisted together." Nihlus smiled and sat back, finishing off his tumbler of strong turian scotch.

"What about Jane? I would be gone for a long periods of time… I don't think she would like that too much, her brothers moving up here soon but, she hasn't really found to many friends here." Garrus stammered out thinking about the woman back at home. She was probably sitting up waiting right now, his dinner getting cold as she wondered when he would get back. Nihlus sat up straight and threw a confused look over at his friend.

"Did I just hear you right? Garrus, it sounds like you actually care for that pet pyjak of yours?" Nihlus let out a full belly laugh, "Oh that's rich Garrus. Your joking right?" Garrus sat there glaring at his friend. "Y-you aren't serious. Garrus, a year ago we were in the middle of killing her kind, and fighting her with glee. Now you have turned into the dutiful turian, working a dead end job at C-sec, but not even going home to a normal bond mate. No, You're going home to a…fleshy thing you could kill with just your talon! A stupid pyjak who's good at shooting a gun." He was getting more and more flustered by the moment until he heard the sound of Garrus' fist hit the table. Nihlus closed his mandibles tightly as he stared at his friend in shock.

"Nihlus," Garrus' voice was low and his sub harmonics hinted death treats, "Jane is my bond mate, I expect you, as my best friend, to treat Jane with the same respect you would a tradition turian mate." Garrus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, he just wanted to leave and go home. He should have known better then to come here.

"Thank you for your offer, Nihlus, but no thank you." Garrus got up out of the booth he had been in. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the cash for his bill. " Your going to laugh at this, but Jane has been asking for me to invite you over for dinner, so she could thank you for sticking with me as a friend, and being almost a brother to me, even though these tough times for us… It's funny how she wants you to come into our home, and how I wanted you to as well. So we could show my 'brother' that humans are not as bad as we thought, they love openly and are not afraid to be individuals. Even if I tell Jane about this… incident… she will still want to invite you over to try and fix things," Garrus paused and glared at the turian whose eyes were locked onto his tumbler. Bile filled Garrus' mouth as he looked at his childhood best friend.

"If you act like this again though, I will never want you anywhere near my mate or my home. If you act like this ever again, I will remind you how good of a sniper I am…"With that Garrus threw down the money on the table and walked out of the bar not turning back. He kept ignoring the fact that he may have just lost his childhood friend and one of the only people he thought he could trust. Garrus ignored the fact that somewhere in his chest he felt alone now.

When Garrus got home he put on a fake smile for Jane and apologized profusely for being home late. They ate dinner and then settled on the couch, Jane curled up against his side as they watched the news. As Garrus looked down at her, half asleep, he realized he would never be alone.

oOoOoOo

It had been six months since Jane and Garrus had become bond mates. Together the two sat on the couch looking at the blue Asari woman in front of them, Garrus had slung his arm over Jane's shoulders as Liara looked over her data pad typing in some notes.

"How would you both describe your relationship as of today?" She asked as she looked up at the couple in front of her.

Jane looked to Garrus who just gave her a shrug Jane sighed and looked back to the Asari. "Like any other relationship I guess. Nothing abnormal."

"Our bond is strong and mutual. We've learned to live with each other like any two people." Garrus looked back at the counselor. Dr. Liara T'Soni would come by the house once a month to check their mental health and observe their growth together as a couple. Liara smiled and nodded at the couple.

"Jane how is your family dealing with everything since last time we talked?"

"Lets see, since last time you were here Joker finally moved up here to the Citadel, like he had promised. He comes by every now again to see us and talk with both of us. He will even see us separately, at times. I talked to my mom… a week ago maybe two weeks ago; she's her normal self. She never seamed to have a problem with Garrus…"

"And your father?" Liara pushed and Jane grimaced slowly.

"He asked Garrus how he was doing last time we talked, but there were racist slurs mixed into the question. I guess that's an 'improvement', but I don't know if I would prefer my father not talking to Garrus or never calling him by his name." Jane sighed at the thought of the last conversation where he would refer to Garrus as Cuttlebone.

" And what about your family, Garrus?"

" Sol and my mother are the same, they both seem ok with everything. Sol even reached out to Jane and gave her some pointers for cooking dextro food. My father, on the other hand, still will not acknowledge Jane."

"You sound like you don't care."

"I don't." Garrus smiled down at Jane. Liara nodded at them as she put her data pad away.

"I think we are done for today. Everything seems to be going well. There are no problems, from what I can tell. I think it's safe to say that since it has been six months, and there have been no problems, you both now are cleared to travel if you wish to. Like always, if anything comes up, you both have my number and can contact me at any time." With that Liara grabbed her bag. The three of them stood up and shook hands quickly before they led Liara to the door and closed it behind her. Garrus looked over at Jane and let out a low rumble.

"Now that everyone knows that we won't try to kill one another, and leave the body on some strange planet, never to be found again, I suggest we take a nice little trip." Garrus picked Jane off the ground and held her against his chest. She wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her arms around his neck. Jane's fingers gently stroking behind Garrus' fringe successfully making his sub harmonics purr with delight

"Maybe." Jane whispered and rested her forehead against his.

oOoOoOo

Jane had woken up one morning a few weeks later with a wave of nausea flooding over her entire being. Quickly she had untangled herself from Garrus and ran to the bathroom just to see her dinner from the night before come back up. She had just kneeled in front of the toilet in time. Once the contents of her stomach had been emptied she rested her flushed face against the cold porcelain throne. She felt his talons stroking the hair out of her eyes before her mind had registered Garrus had followed her into the bathroom.

"You must have eaten some of the dextro ingredients by accident last night when you were cooking." Garrus calmly stated after a few moments of silence. Jane nodded slowly as she felt another wave hit her hard. She hadn't been sick since she was a young girl, Jane had an iron stomach that took a lot to get upset.

"Just to be cautious though, you should take it easy today. No running around the Citadel and getting into trouble, or I just might have to detain you." He chucked softly as he pulled her into his lap.

"Garrus, I'll be fine, it's just probably a dextro ingredient, or maybe I didn't cook my chicken all the way through last night." Jane gave him a weak smile as she pushed her self up off the ground and out of his lap. Slowly she walked over to the sink to wash her face. She watched him silently through the mirror. He gave her a sigh and got up shaking his head.

"I mean it Jane. Just go relax in the garden and read a book today. Maybe finish that model you mom sent you from Earth, call joker and play those shooting games you both are fond of." Jane grumbled something under her breath at him but he ignored it.

"We don't know what made you sick, and I for one, have no idea what happens when your species gets sick. So entertain the idea of being delicate for once. I will bring home that weirdly cheap human take out you like and grab the new Blasto's movie you wanted to see, but only if you appease your bond mate's worries." Jane let out and exasperated sigh. With that battle won, Garrus gave her a nip on the ear lobe before he left the bathroom to get ready for his day at C-Sec.

oOoOoOo

No matter what Jane ate or how it was cooked she, for the next week, could barley keep anything other then oyster crackers down. Garrus had turned into a worrywart until Jane had promised to make an appointment to go see a doctor on the citadel. It took them two days before she could go in for a check up.

Jane sat in the small, white, and over sterilized room, waiting alone for the doctor to come in. No matter what world or species, doctors took their merry time to go see their patient. She heard the light knock before the door slid open, Jane looked up at the reddish colored Salarian walking in. He was missing his right antenna and with his dark eyes looked at her like she was a challenge. Something about this man made Jane both worried and excited.

"Mordin Solus, doctor, professor, nice to meet you, Jane. Never had human patient before, this will be…interesting." The man took a short breath as his eyes fluttered over her medical file she had brought with her, " Don't worry, studied human medical books and tests since contact war ended, interesting species you are. Culture nice; enjoy your music. Preferably the old musicals with the patter rhythms…Hm… not common for human to have Turian sounding last name, normally Smith, Williams or Johnson from observation…combined with bite scar, common of Turian mating rituals. All factors indicate you are in fact Commander Jane Shepard. Nothing in file stated it but assumption is correct, none the less. Odd situation you were put in with your now husband. Odd decision on the council's part to use a long gone human tradition, Asari must have come up with, not rational, romantic idea taken from human literature. Saliarian would never come to this irrational conclusion." With a sigh Mordin Solus sat down next to Jane quickly examining her vitals. "What are your symptoms?" With his big eyes trained on her, Jane cleared her throat as silence deafened the small room that incased the two of them.

"Nausea every morning, noon, and night. I can't keep anything down. I feel tired and my joints ache."

"Last menstruation?" Jane held up her hands in surprise.

"It can't be what you're thinking, that's impossible. Garrus and I aren't even the same species." Jane felt her blood run cold. "How would that even work? With our genetics?"

"Nothing impossible, no such thing as impossible, just highly improbable but never impossible. Last menstruation cycle?"

Jane stared at the large dark eyes observing her, thoughts of the improbable running through her head. Jane said nothing because she already knew what her answer would lead to. She rested her head in her hands as she tried to understand how this happened.

oOoOoOo

Garrus walked in through the front door and set down his bag by the coat rack. He had expected the welcoming smell of dinner when he had walked in, but there was nothing. Jane must have still not been feeling well. Garrus shrugged and was about to walk to the kitchen when something from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He stopped and looked into the living room where Jane was sitting on the floor, she had her photo album resting on her thighs as she sat cross-legged. She was staring at one photo, not moving, her eyebrows were knitted together in deep thought.

Garrus slowly walked into the room and cleared his throat. When Jane didn't move or make a noise, Garrus walked over and sat down next to her on the hard floor, cautiously he glanced at the photo she was intently observing. It was a black and white snapshot taken of her family at some place that looked like an amusement park. They all had smiles plastered to their faces and their eyes shinned in the light, A young version of Jane was sitting on her father's shoulders, while Joker was hanging onto his mother's skirt. The other two boys were attached by the hip in front of their father, staring at the camera with their tongues sticking out. Garrus smiled at this image of the close-knit family.

"I forgot how Jack and Josh were always together. People always thought that they were twins; they never left the others side. Even in the Alliance they had managed to pull enough strings to always be together, protecting the others six. Joker and I, on the other hand, were the misfits of the family; Joker with his Vrolik Syndrome, and I being the only daughter, who was just trying to fit in with her older brothers… Mom hated the fact that I wasn't like all the other little girls who asked for dolls and pretty dresses for Christmas, instead asking for BB guns and models of space ships to build with Joker. I always had cuts and scrapes just to prove how much tougher I was then Jack and Josh" Jane laughed softly, "But she loathed Dad for all the times he snuck me to the shooting range and taught me everything I know with a gun. She loathed him for treating me like one of the boys, but she loved him for it at the same time." Jane sighed and turned to another picture before she continued on. "Did you ever want kids Garrus?" Jane asked softly. Garrus sighed and wrapped his arm around her. He was silent for a moment trying to find the best way to answer this. He looked at the picture now in front of them. This was another black and white picture of Jane and Joker. The two siblings were much older and all dressed up for an event that Jane had called prom.

"Yes, I did. I still do. Might be a little hard now but; there are other options. If you want children that is… if you don't I'm fine with it being just us… we could get one of those things your mother is so fond of, those furry, mop looking animals-" Jane silence made Garrus' words slowly die out. Her expression confused him; it was a mix of worries and wishes all at the same time.

"Jane, what's wrong?" he finally asked softly, Jane turned and looked at the man next to her, a small smile slowly graced her lips; but it was her next words that got to Garrus.

"Garrus, I'm pregnant."

He sat there in silence, he wanted to celebrate he wanted to run around alerting everyone on the citadel of their news of becoming parents; but one thing kept getting to him. This was too good to be true, genetically it shouldn't have happened.

"It's mine, right?" he asked the question softly, he knew by their link that he never needed to ask the question, that he could tell that she was faithful. He knew that she would probably take it the wrong way, but he needed to hear her say it. He needed that conformation to be ecstatic.

"Yes, big guy, it's yours." Jane shot him a glare before he was able to tackle her to the floor, whispering sweet things against her skin between nips as he traveled down her body. Once he reached her abdomen, gently, Garrus rested his forehead against the now occupied womb. He felt her fingers run over his fringe and stoke there, as he spoke softly in his sub harmonics to their growing child.


	4. Chapter 4: Palaven

_A/N: Thanks you everyone for bearing with my revisions and my little break. There were new tidbits added when I revised the last three chapters. If you are a reader from when I first posted feel free to reread the last chapters… only "big change" is that Shepard's family is from Vermont, not Maine any more. Thank you to my beta I'm The Sweet! She's epic and deals with all my random messages that come out of nowhere. I own nothing, Biowear owns it all… but if they ever want to give it up, you know, I'm here. _

_Comments and constructive criticism is always nice and appreciated!_

Chapter Four: Palaven

Garrus and Jane sat next to each other in the sterile white doctor's office. Jane was flipping through some human magazine and Garrus just sat there, counting the number of his heartbeats and seeing how low he could make that number. Garrus didn't know how long they had been sitting there in the blank white room. Annoyed Garrus got up from his chair and started to pace around the small room, his footsteps echoed loudly against the white containment chamber. He could hear Jane sigh softly from where she sat.

"Garrus sit down, please."

"I can't, I can't just sit here and wait. Why isn't he here yet? The appointment was for noon and it's-" Garrus looked up at the time on his visor. "12:05."

_It's only been ten minutes? _Garrus stopped in his footsteps dumbfounded.

"Dr. Mordin probably had another patient before us and is just running late, or maybe he needed coffee or something; why he would need that I have no idea. Don't worry, he will get here." Jane's eyes never left her magazine as she comforted the large and nervous turian in the room. Garrus let out a large huff as he fell back into his chair next to Jane. Clicking his talons together Garrus' mind stated to race with all the things the couple still had to do before the next morning when they would leave for their shuttle to Palaven, then after a week there, the couple would get on a shuttle to Earth.

They had decided a week after the discovery their little miracle that they needed to go and see the other's home worlds. They needed to discover everything they could about the other's cultures before the mash up of human turian life. Garrus for one; knew almost nothing about real life on earth, he had heard from Jane stories of her culture and the life she once lived back in her home, but Garrus needed to experience things for himself. While Jane knew almost nothing of turian culture and life, and Garrus for one wanted his child to know where they came from, with both human and turian perspective. Garrus was a mix of excitement and anxiety for both visits. How would his family and friends treat Jane once she got to their home? And visa versa, how would Jane's culture accept him? Were they idiots for even thinking of going back?

Garrus was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of the door slide open. He looked up to the red salarian that walked into the room; Garrus pushed himself up off the chair and watched the man move quickly into the room and towards Jane. Who just put away her magazine quietly and held out her arm for the doctor to take her vitals.

"Sorry for the lateness, ran into a colleague. Started long discussion on ramifications versus benefits of new medication soon to come out. Interesting conversation, got lost in it. Vitals are excellent, patient looks fine, and patients mate," Mordin looked over Garrus, "looks nervous. All is relatively normal considering situation. Jane could you get up and lay down on the table for the ultra sound?" Jane just nodded and pushed her self up on the exam table. Garrus stood there silently looking between Jane and the quick speaking doctor. He watched as Jane rolled up her shirt exposing her now slightly plump mid section, Garrus quickly walked closer to the table as Dr. Mordin started to squirt some substance on to his mates mid section.

"What is that?" Garrus asked quietly, eyeing the odd jelly like substance being rubbed onto Jane's belly.

"Petroleum jelly. Humans use this, and this machine to check on the growth of their offspring every so often while in the womb. Since their skin is so fragile we can use this machine to give us an image of the child growing in the female's womb. Turian plates are too dense for the ultra sound to work, Asari only produce daughters, and Saliarian's lay eggs, no use for this device for its required purpose, until now." Mordin paused in his speech as he turned the machine on, and pressed the probe against where the child resided in Jane's womb. The three of them sat there in silence staring at the black and white images that appeared on the screen in front of them, waiting for one image in particular.

"Ah, there we are, that would be the tadpole of yours. Two arms, two legs, larger then average human fetus size, if you look closely you can see the beginning of the fringe, there seams to be not much of a cowl, That could develop later though, and it looks like there possibly is five fingers but image not as clear as it could be. Three months and fetus resembles more human then turian at this point, development will be more interesting as time passes, must write down findings." With that Modin pulled Garrus over, gave him the probe and walked off to write the new developments down. Garrus stood there staring at the black and white images on the screen; his mandible's had fallen slack in the beginning and stayed that way. With amazement Garrus watched the small image move every now and again.

"What do you think Vakarian? Impressed by your handy work?" Jane laughed quietly as she looked up at him with a smile. Garrus' eyes never traveled too far from the image in front of him.

"I don't know what to say, I can't believe it." Garrus breathed out quietly. Jane's laughter echoed through the room, and for the rest of the day Garrus was in awe of the situation. It had taken him days to adjust to the idea that they were going to have a family of their own, but after the appointment Jane had suggested he go to, Garrus had become ecstatic. Garrus had a hard time for the rest of the day keeping his news a secret, even more so from the co-workers that he had started to form a bond with. After the three months he had been working at C-Sec, some of the other turians had come up to him and told Garrus that they had never truly agreed with the war in the first place, and how they had no issues with humans. These men were a rarity to find, but when they earned Garrus' trust and respect, they had become good work friends. As he sat at his desk, Garrus couldn't help but notice some of the looks his collogues were giving him, but in the end he didn't care about the odd looks from the other C-Sec operatives.

"What's wrong with you today? Ever since you came back from lunch you look like someone gave you a does of red sand." Chellick eyed Garrus with a suspicious glance, "You're not on anything are you? I don't think Jane would be too happy with that."

Garrus quickly shook his head, "No, no, everything's fine..." Garrus quickly glanced over to the lightly colored turian, "Just excited for my vacation with her, to Palaven then to Earth." Garrus heard the other turian hiss slowly as he leaned back in his chair.

"That is just a bad idea in the making." Garrus said nothing to the other man, and just opened up the new file that had appeared on his desk while he had been gone.

oOoOoOo

"Well someone has started to let themself go." Joker stated as he walked into the kitchen. Jane looked up and glared at her brother from where she was at the counter; cutting peppers up for dinner. Jane picked up her knife and pointed it at Joker, shaking it at him in a threatening manor.

"Have not." Jane stated as she went back to cutting the veggies.

"I think you have, I mean Jane, look at that mini Buddha belly your sporting." Joker laughed as he stole some of the veggies and started to eat them. "It's okay, there's just more of you to love now!" Joker walked over to the fridge, grabbing a beer out of it he turned and leaned up against the counter.

"Why did you go to the doctors today?" Joker asked pointing to the calendar, taking note of the red markings for today's reminder.

"I haven't been feeling well." She lied quickly, staring at the veggies intensely as Jane chopped them up. Both Jane and Garrus had agreed to not tell anyone about the little one until they had announced the news to their parents first. Jane didn't even want to tell Joker until they were all on Earth to see their family. Jane looked over at her brother who seamed to keep his eyes trained on her protruding stomach. The gears in his mind seamed to be hard at work as he nursed his beer.

"What, Joker?" Jane finally asked as she put down the knife and placed her hands on her hips.

" You never get sick, you have a stomach of iron… You also keep up with your training. You can't be pregnant; I mean Garrus is a different species. That's not possible, right?" Jane said nothing and turned back to the veggies, she went back to massacring the innocent vegetables. She couldn't lie to his face, Joker had always been able to read her and connect the dots. So Jane did what she did best in these situations, ignore him until he stopped his questions or got distracted by something else.

"Crazier things have happened though… I mean the council getting an idea of this marriage from dead customs, to end a war with an alien race, that we stumbled upon when we had thought that we were the only intelligent beings…" Joker paused and took another sip from his bottle, she had felt like she was about to get away before he connected the last dot, "Jane, are you pregnant? Is there a half velociraptor half human baby growing inside you, right now?" Jane flinched, "There is, isn't there? Holy shit! Jane why didn't you tell me? Did you tell Mom and Dad? Jesus, I bet they'd fucking flipped!"

"No I haven't told them yet! This is what the trip was for, to announce it to our families. Garrus and I wanted to wait to tell everyone in person." Jane hissed as she heard the front door open then shut, she looked up to see Garrus walking in to the kitchen. Joker practically skipped over to the large turian.

"Hey, look who it is, the man of the hour. Garrus Vakarian, how does it feel to know you have successfully impregnated the most bad ass woman in the universe?"

"You told him?"

"No, I didn't tell him, the bastard got lucky and guessed." Jane turned around and threw the mauled veggies into the pan to fry. "Joker, are you staying to raid our dinner or will you be leaving us to go scavenge?"

"It's this or ramen noodles, so yes, I will be here for dinner." He stated before he took a swig of his beer, "How far along are you?"

"Three months," Garrus answered as he went to the fridge and got himself a drink.

"Really? Wow." Jane sighed softly. The night continued on like that along with Joker stating how epic of an uncle he would make.

oOoOoOo

The next morning Jane and Garrus woke up early. Quietly the two got ready for the day, mentally preparing themselves for the long flight ahead of them to Palaven. Both were nervous for the trip and the news they were bringing along with them, but Jane was worried about the actual trip to the new world. In Turian eyes Jane was woman to feared, or even to be executed on site for her reputation alone. She didn't know how the trip would go, in Jane's mind the entire thing could easily blow up in their faces.

Jane sighed as she pushed her red hair up into a large bun and looked at herself in the mirror. Even if she was nervous or fearful, this trip needed to happen. Jane pulled on her N-7 hoody over her tank top and walked out of the bathroom, turning the light off in her wake. Jane hoped down the stairs and smiled at Garrus who was standing by the door, waiting for her.

"Ready, big guy?" Jane asked softly as she reached the bottom of the staircase, Garrus gave her a quick nod and quickly pressed his forehead against hers. Once they grabbed their luggage the two slowly walked out of the front door and into the taxi that waited or them. Jane watched as their safe haven from the universe slowly start to disappear as they drove off in the early morning light.

oOoOoOo

Palaven was hot, way too hot for Jane. Sweat seemed to drip off of her as she sat in the hover car Garrus was driving. Jane watched as the silvery city pass by them quickly as he went in and out of the traffic around them.

"And this is the winter season?" Jane asked with a sigh, Garrus let out a chuckle and nodded as he glanced over to the sweating woman next to him. Garrus looked back at the road to the out skirts of the big city, they were close to his child hood home. Garrus' mother and sister had seemed ecstatic with the idea of the visit, the two had started to start to plan every minute of the trip when Garrus mentioned the idea to them. They now had planned everything to the moment to optimize site seeing for Jane, along with introductions too the larger flock of the Vakarian clan. Meanwhile, Garrus' father had grumbled something about leaving the pyjak behind at home the entire time. Garrus sighed as he slowed the car in front of one of the many small, one-story homes. The building made out off a coppery colored clay, It was designed to keep in the cool and to be easily defendable with few windows and only one known exit.

"Here we are," Garrus looked over at Jane with a smile, she, on the other hand, looked like she was about to loose her lunch right there as she stared at the home.

"Are we sure this is a good idea? The dinner never went well… maybe we should just turn around and go back. I bet there's a-" But Garrus shushed Jane before she could finish her thought by planting his forehead against hers. She just let out a quiet sigh.

"Everything will be fine, trust me." With that he stepped out of the car and looked at the building in front of him. The home had been his families for as long as he could remember. Garrus opened the trunk and started to grab their bags as Jane slowly got out of the vehicle. Garrus looked up to see that Jane was still staring at the one story building.

"Welcome to Palaven, Jane and little one." Garrus whispered into her ear as he walked up behind Jane, bags in tow. Together the two walked towards the small structure in front of them. They stood silently on the stoop; Jane glanced over at Garrus before finally speaking.

"What if they don't like our news?"

"Jane, stop fretting. Everything will be fine, you'll see." With that Garrus rang the bell to the home. Sol quickly came and answered the door with a smile at the couple standing on the stoop.

"Brother, Jane." The smaller beige turian nodded and opened the door, welcoming them into the structure. As they entered they found Bellus and Amora standing in the living room regally, one frowning and the other giving them a sweet smile.

"Welcome home my child and his bond mate." Amora walked towards the two with warm embrace. Bellus gave Jane the once over before going towards Garrus and giving him a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Welcome back to your home, Garrus." Bellus stated softly. It had surprised Jane how much the father and son looked and sounded alike.

"Thank you, Father." Garrus nodded to his dad and wrapped and arm around Jane's hips, "I don't know if you all had planned on going out tonight but, It's been a long day of travel for Jane and I. For her sake it might be best if the two of us just stay in tonight." Garrus smiled down at Jane.

"Yes, we thought that the trip might take a lot out of both of you, we prepared dinner already; and Jane, Sol and I tried to make you a human dish. We have no idea how it came out, but the vid's and comments on the extranet stated that it is good." Amora smiled down at the small human who gave her a nod.

oOoOoOo

Jane and Garrus lay in the nest like bed together looking up through the skylight at the rest of the galaxy. Dinner had gone quickly and quietly. Little was said during the dinner as Jane tried to choke down the attempted human meal, but she faked a smiled the entire time and said that she loved it.

"We should tell them tomorrow." Jane whispered and looked over to Garrus, who looked down at Jane.

"Okay, we'll tell them tomorrow." With that Garrus pulled Jane closer to him and encircled the blanket around the two of them. Jane felt his talons lightly stroking her abdomen as she looked up and watched the stars. Jane didn't want to tell the group of turian's the news today like they had planned. Something in Jane's gut told her not to, something had stopped her when she opened her mouth to during dinner. Garrus told her not to worry, but every instinct told her that this would end badly. Turians were not an individualistic race; they believed in unity, sacrificing the few for the many, but most of all abnormalities were not celebrated, they were a weakness to the race. That's what their child was in a traditional turian eyes, an abnormality, a weakness.

Jane sighed and scowled as she listened to Garrus' sub harmonics trill in his sleep. Jane gazed over at Garrus; she couldn't understand how hopeful he was. He should know his family would most likely react to the news negatively; yet he thought that everything would be fine, and there would be celebrations. But Jane didn't expect this from either family; Jane expected the worst to happen with both. Joker had been excited about the news when he found out, but Joker was always the exception from everything. He enjoyed the odd and different.

_"And this is odd and different."_ Jane's mind whispered as she looked down at the taloned hand, still gently clutching her small bump. Jane gaze drifted back to the stars as her mind started to drift to thinking of these last few months. To say that Jane had been surprised by the news was an understatement; the idea of a half turian and human child overwhelmed her mind. Jane, to some extent, had always wanted children, but she had never given any deep thought to it ever since she had left Kaidan. Kids had gone to the back burner of her mind and her career had become priority in her life; and when she celebrated her twenty eight birthday Jane realized most of her friends back home had started their families already, while Jane was still single and alone. Jane had just about given up the fantasy of becoming a mother, until when she found out about the little one growing in her. All Jane could do was sit there and think back to her childhood. She wondered if her child could have a normal life? What would it eat, Levo or Dextro meals? What would their quality of life be like? Would her child be able to have a real life, or would it be an outsider to both humans and turians? Would it even survive in the world? These things alone made Jane question if it was even a reasonable idea to keep the child, even if she wanted it.

Agitated by her thoughts, Jane let out a huff as she untangled herself from the protective arms she seamed to become tangled in every night. Silently Jane strolled through the dark hallways and to the kitchen. Jane looked around the large space, to Jane the entire space seamed to have been carved out of a green gray stone. Jane quickly walked towards the tall cabinet where the dishes were kept and grumbled slowly when she noticed how far up they were. Standing up on her tippy toes Jane's hand barley brushed the shelving.

"Damn turians being so tall." Jane whispered softly as she prepared to climb up the counter.

"Here," His voice was quiet and stiff. Before Jane knew it a dull gray, talon hand, easily reached up and grabbed her one of the silver glasses. Jane turned and looked at the older Turian now standing behind her.

"Thank you," Jane whispered. Bellus cocked his head to the side and observed her through the darkened room. Jane mimicked the old turian's posture before turning and flitting her glass with water.

"You confuse me." Bellus stated quietly as the room became bathed in light. Jane blinked and looked at the man now standing at the other end of the kitchen.

"Why?" Jane asked as Bellus started to slowly circle the room and Jane.

"Your species is violent and cruel, yet here you are. Bonded to my son, until your last breath." The old turian stopped in his tracks, taking a moment to collect his next thought, " I would have thought that you both being bitter enemies on the battlefield would have tried to murder the other by now; yet you haven't. Commander Jane Shepard, dotes on my son like any mate would, he dotes on you and acts like a good turian. If you, Jane, were turian I would be happy to call you my daughter and son's mate." The turian started his pacing once more, "But you are a human, who fought in the war against us. You fought against my son; who, ironically, reportedly killed your two older brothers. In our culture you should kill him for what he did; yet you don't, you dote on him, and him you. You confuse me Jane Shepard."

Jane watched the older turian closely before she spoke, "What are you asking, sir?"

"Smart human, you know this isn't a useless speech. I have a few question I would like you to truthfully answer for me." He looked over to Jane, who curtly nodded for him to proceed.

"Are you planning to kill my son?"

"No." Bellus' mandibles twitched with utter confusion.

"But don't you want revenge? Your species insists on it."

"No, I don't want revenge. What happened was in war, we all knew the risks involved with fighting, we all volunteered for the risks; everyone loses someone they cared about in war, and sadly my losses were close to home." The turian studied Jane for a moment before continuing.

"Are all humans this complicated?" This made Jane laugh softly.

"You could say so. We have no set traits… we are all different from one to the next, we don't think the same way, or act the same. In the end, no human is the same, we are all unique." Jane smiled softly when the turian scoffed. Silence filled the room, the older turian seamed to have mental warfare about the next question he would ask.

"Do you care for my son like a normal Bond Mate?" Bellus stopped pacing right in front of Jane. His dark grey eyes bearing down into her green orbs. Jane did not blink or look away; She never flinched or showed weakness, until she smiled at the turian in front of her.

"Yes, I do." Bellus' eyes went wide as he stepped away from the petite human, "I couldn't image being with anyone else now." Bellus said nothing; he just stood there, blinking in surprise and astonishment. Jane took a sip of her glass of water with a smile.

"I should go back to bed, thank you for retrieving the cup for me. Good night Bellus." Jane was about to leave but stopped in the door way to the hall. " And, Bellus, don't tell Garrus about my brothers. He," Jane paused and turned to the large turian who was watching her, "He doesn't know, and I would like to keep it that way." With that Jane turned and left the room, leaving Bellus, alone, in the deafening silence with just his thoughts to be with him.

oOoOoOo

Garrus woke up from his deep slumber slowly. He first became aware of the sheets, then the nest he had made for him and Jane, finally the smell of Jane's style of breakfast cooking. Garrus pushed himself up from the bed and looked down to find himself siting in it alone. Quickly the large turian pushed himself out of the bed and ambled through the house to the kitchen, where he found Jane cooking, while telling his mother and sister some story from earth.

"-So there I was, sitting in this class, and the biology teacher was going on and on about how in nature most of the males of every species are more colorful then the females to attract their attention. I though he would never shut up. Then, next thing I know, in bursts Jack, John, and Joker; dressed in woman's clothing, with full make up, and with women's wigs on. All three slowly strutted around the room, probably three or four times; their high heals clacking against the tile floor as they pass each student, winking at some of my staring classmates, or blowing them kisses. After they have done all of this, without a single word uttered by anyone in the room, they leave. The teacher cleared his throat and then states. 'Our species doesn't fallow this pattern, excluding the Shepard Brother's.' Finally I just couldn't help it any longer, I died of laughter right there along with the rest of the class." Garrus watched as the three women started laughing at the images flashing through their minds.

"It seams Males are the same all over the universe, making large ass's of them selves." Sol laughed as she sipped her tea. Garrus cleared his throat as he crossed to Jane, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"How are we this morning?" He whispered into Jane's ear.

"I am good. Since your mother and sister slaved over dinner, last night. I decided to make breakfast for all of us." Pressed her cheek against his mandible and she flipped the pancake. Garrus walked away and sat at the table with his sister and mother, who started gushing about the dextro breakfast Jane had cooked. Light chatter had fallen over the kitchen; Garrus smiled as he watched his mate fuss over breakfast and his family.

He couldn't help but watch the scene and in his mind add in the sound of scampering feet echoing through out the home. Garrus was pulled out of his trance with the sound of the front door slamming, Garrus watched as both his father and Nihlus walked into the room. Four pairs of eyes looked up as the two-turian men stood in the doorway. Garrus got up from the table and slowly walked over to Jane, letting out a protective warning note come from his sub harmonics. Everyone stood there in silence, all looking around trying to figure out who would be the first to speak after that scene.

"Nihlus, welcome, we're having breakfast if you would like to join us. But why are you here?" Amora asked, trying to break the awkward silence that had formed in the room, which felt like it was growing smaller by the minute.

"I heard that Garrus was home, and since I finished a mission early I thought it might be a good time to come see my family as well, also I… I wanted to officially meet Jane." He stuttered out. With a carful eye on Garrus, Nihlus took quick steps towards the mates. Bending his head down, Nihlus greeted Jane. "I am sorry that I have not been able to properly introduce myself to you or take you up on your offer for dinner with Garrus and you at your home. I hope to soon, if the offer is still on the table." Nihlus gave Jane a weak smile, but his eyes darted between Garrus and Jane nervously. Garrus felt his mandibles instinctively tighten against his face as he glared at his old friend. He didn't understand how months later Nihlus finally said something to the two of them. Garrus had been sure when he walked out of the club that night that all hints of Nihlus were gone in his life, that he would never appear again. Yet here he was, his harmonics begging for forgiveness from Garrus. With a sigh Garrus looked down at Jane for the answer, who just nodded and smiled at the darker Turian.

"We would enjoy that, a lot."

"Why don't you join us for dinner tonight, Nihlus. We will be going to this lovely restaurant to celebrate Garrus and Jane being home." Amora smiled at the young male.

"I would like that very much."

oOoOoOo

Jane sat at the tabled quietly playing with the napkin in her lap. Silence had fallen over the table once they had been seated. Silence with Garrus' family seemed to be a normal; it made Jane nervous, she had grown up with loud, almost obnoxious, amounts of talking at family gatherings and dinners. Silences growing up had always meant something was seriously wrong, that bad news had been shared and everyone was grieving over it. Jane felt Garrus' talons trace patterns in the fabric of her skirt under the table. Jane looked up at Garrus, who just gave her a small smile as he squeezed her knee. It was time; Jane felt a knot in her stomach form and sit there uncomfortably, every silent moment the knot seemed to become larger. This was it, the reason why the couple had come to Garrus' home world, to see his family and share their news.

"Jane and I have some news." Garrus' voice rang out amongst the table. All four other turians looked up from their menus, waiting silently for the new announcement. "Jane and I are halving a child." Garrus' face seemed to beam in Jane's mind. She watched as all the faces around the table change from shock to different emotions. Nihlus and Sol seamed to stay in a perpetual shock. Bellus' fringe, oddly, seamed to pick up and fan out like a peacock; Jane had come to realize that this was a sign of pride. Yet it was Garrus' mother's face that struck Jane and made the woman confused. The look of disgust was evident in Amora's now harsh features. A feeling of judgment and repulsion flowed off of Amora in waves, each one becoming more and more apparent as the information sunk into her mind.

"What." The woman spat out finally. Garrus' excitement slowly died as he watched his mother's reaction.

"Jane and I are-"

"I understood what you said, honey, but you can't be serious. You're not keeping that…thing… are you?" Amora sized Jane up, her eyes turning into icicles.

"We are, it's a marvel that it's even possible that this could happen." Jane said as she straightened under the close observation of the once sweet woman. She couldn't understand how the once caring woman turned into a vicious person.

"This…thing…is an abomination." She whispered.

"Amora, I think you're-" but Bellus was cut off before he could calm his wife.

"Our family would be the laughing stock if they went through with having this atrocity. Think of poor Solana! She would never be able to find a good mate. Already her chances are low because of the shamble of her brother's bonding." The turian woman motioned to both Garrus and Jane, "Jane is a sweet girl, but she is not one of us. Bellus, I'm surprised that you would not be feeling the same way I am right now. I know you have been gun-ho about trying to find a loophole to bring the Vakarian name back into good graces." Everyone at the table fell into a dark silence. Jane glared at the napkin in her lap; Garrus' grip had tightened on her knee, the sound of someone awkwardly clearing their throat echoed through the now silent room. Jane wanted to get up and leave, as she looked up she noticed all the other people in the restaurant were cautiously glancing over at their party; wanting to give them privacy but also wanting to watch the train wreck of a dinner.

"Mother, I think that-" Sol's words died as her mother's ice like eyes darted and became trained onto her daughter.

"This dinner is over." Amora stated and she got up from the table. Glanced back at Jane and Garrus the woman finally spoke again, "If you want to be apart of this family you will get rid of this disgrace." With that the woman stalked off. Jane looked back up to the other occupants of the table. Bellus cleared his throat as he slowly stood.

"I will pack up your car and pick you up a red eye shuttle to Earth, I…" Bellus paused and looked down at Jane then to Garrus, "I am sorry that this is how things played out, Garrus, a bad turian would give up." The older turian paused and looked over at his youngest, "Solana, we should follow your mother." With that Garrus and Jane were left with Nihlus. Silence washed over them in cool waves. Jane let out a breath she had seemed to be holding as she rested her elbows on the table.

"So no need to go see movies any more… I'll just follow you guys around from now on," Nihlus tried to laugh, but it turned into an awkward choked laugh. "Right, not funny." Silence filled the table, Nihlus slowly got up from the table; "I should go, but Congratulations on the start of your family. You guys don't need that in your life if that's how they will act." With that Nihlus walked away, leaving Jane and Garrus in silence. Minutes passed, but the minutes seamed like hours had ticked away when Jane finally looked over at Garrus, who looked over at her with a sigh.

"I should have listened to you." Garrus whispered, his sub harmonics seemed to be filled with pain; Jane shook her head slowly.

"No, your mother just doesn't accept it, that's all." Jane stated as she wrapped her hand around his much larger one.

"She's from an old rich family." Garrus stated as if in explanation. With a sigh Jane stood up and held out her hand to Garrus, who just stared at her with a confused look.

"Come on big guy, show me your home city… Then we can go to Earth." Garrus wrapped his hand around Jane's small petite one and stood up from the table.

Together the two had spent the rest of the night running around the city causing havoc and acted like teenagers. Together the two tried to erase the night's previous events from their minds. Jane helped Garrus ignore the fact that he lost his mother that night, and relished in the idea that he gained his own family in the process. The night ended with the two of them walking back to his childhood home in the chilled darkness. Together the two opened the doors and got into the packed hover car, and drove to catch their red eye to Earth. As Jane watched the now darken city pass she realized she needed to tell her family of the new travel plans. Jane typed out a quick message to Joker, explaining the situation, and gave him the flights itinerary so someone would be there to pick the couple up the next morning. She also remembered to add in at the very bottom to bring a lot of extra winter coats and scarves for Garrus.

February in Vermont is a bitch.


End file.
